Chapter 3 - The File Hidden Beneath Fort Blackwood
The office door opened.
Slowly.
Not enough for someone to enter.
Just enough for a shadow to appear beneath the gap.
Commander Hayes moved immediately.
He stepped in front of me.
Not like a superior officer protecting a subordinate.
Like someone protecting a secret.
"Stay behind me," he whispered.
I wanted answers.
I wanted to know why my father was standing outside a locked office.
I wanted to know why my grandfather had hidden an entire part of his life from me.
But at that moment, I only watched the door.
Waiting.
The person outside pushed it slightly wider.
Then stopped.
A voice came from the hallway.
"Richard."
My entire body froze.
Because I knew that voice.
Not from hearing it moments earlier.
From hearing it my entire life.
My father's voice.
Commander Hayes closed his eyes for a second.
Like he had hoped this moment would never happen.
"Thomas."
The name sounded strange coming from his mouth.
Almost like a warning.
The door opened completely.
My father stepped inside.
Thomas Palmer.
The same man who watched me leave home that morning.
The same man who never asked where I was going.
The same man who had spent years pretending my grandfather was nothing more than an old soldier.
He looked older than I remembered.
But his eyes were the same.
Cold.
Careful.
Always calculating.
His gaze immediately moved to the mahogany box.
Then to me.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Finally, my father said:
"You weren't supposed to bring that here."
I stared at him.
The words hurt more than I expected.
Not because he was angry.
Because he sounded afraid.
"Why?" I asked.
He didn't answer.
"Why wasn't I supposed to bring my grandfather's box here?"
My father looked at Commander Hayes.
"You told her."
Hayes didn't move.
"I told her enough."
My father's expression hardened.
"That was not your decision."
I stepped forward.
"Actually, it was my decision."
Both of them looked at me.
And for the first time that day, I didn't feel like the child in the room.
I felt like the person everyone had been keeping things from.
"I am tired of everyone deciding what I can handle."
My father looked away.
"Fiona..."
"No."
I shook my head.
"Not this time."
I pointed at the box.
"My grandfather left this to me."
My voice became quieter.
"So I want to know why everyone looks terrified when they see it."
Silence.
Commander Hayes looked at my father.
My father looked at the floor.
And that told me everything.
He knew.
He had always known.
"You knew what was inside," I said.
My father didn't deny it.
That was worse.
"You knew," I repeated.
He finally looked at me.
"Your grandfather wanted you protected."
I almost laughed.
"Protected from what?"
He didn't answer.
"From the truth?"
My father's face changed.
A small reaction.
But I noticed.
Because after years of military training, I learned how to read people.
And my father was hiding something.
Not guilt.
Fear.
"What happened to Grandpa?" I asked.
My father's jaw tightened.
"He made a choice."
"What choice?"
"A dangerous one."
Commander Hayes interrupted.
"Thomas, stop."
My father looked at him.
"You don't get to tell me when to stop."
The tension between them was immediate.
Two men who had shared something long ago.
Something I had never known about.
I looked between them.
"You two worked together."
Neither answered.
That was enough.
My father walked toward the desk.
He looked at the old photograph.
The one showing him beside my grandfather and Commander Hayes.
"I told you this day would come," he said.
Hayes remained silent.
I frowned.
"Told him what?"
My father looked at me.
"That one day you would find out."
I felt my chest tighten.
"You knew Grandpa was hiding something?"
"Yes."
"And you let me believe he was just retired?"
My father looked down.
"Because that was safer."
I shook my head.
"No."
My voice became sharper.
"That was easier."
The words hit him.
I saw it.
For the first time, my father looked like a person.
Not an authority figure.
Not someone judging me.
Just a man who had made choices he regretted.
"I was trying to protect you," he said.
I stared at him.
"By letting me think I was a disappointment?"
His face changed.
"You heard that?"
I almost smiled.
"Of course I heard it."
The room became quiet.
"You were there."
My father looked away.
Because he knew.
He had been there.
He had allowed it.
Commander Hayes quietly placed the mahogany box on the desk.
"Enough."
He looked at both of us.
"She deserves the truth."
My father immediately responded.
"No."
Hayes looked at him.
"Thomas."
"No."
My father's voice became stronger.
"If she knows everything, they will come for her."
I looked at him.
"Who?"
Nobody answered.
Then suddenly, the lights went out.
The entire office became dark.
For two seconds, nobody moved.
Then emergency lights turned on.
Red.
Low.
Warning lights.
Commander Hayes immediately moved to his computer.
"What happened?"
He checked the security system.
His face changed.
"What?"
I walked closer.
"What is it?"
He turned the monitor toward me.
The security feed showed the hallway outside.
Empty.
Then another screen appeared.
A file access notification.
Someone had entered the commander's private archive.
A folder.
One that had not been opened in twenty years.
My grandfather's classified file.
I looked at Hayes.
"Someone is reading his file?"
He nodded.
"No."
His voice became quiet.
"They are not reading it."
He looked at me.
"They are deleting it."
Commander Hayes moved quickly.
He typed commands into the computer.
My father stood behind him.
"This isn't possible."
Hayes didn't respond.
"Who has access?"
My father asked.
Hayes stared at the screen.
Then slowly answered:
"Only three people."
I felt a chill.
"Who?"
He didn't say anything.
He looked at my father.
Then at himself.
Then at me.
My stomach dropped.
"No."
Hayes shook his head.
"Your grandfather added a third person."
I looked confused.
"Who?"
Commander Hayes opened another file.
The screen displayed an old authorization record.
DATE OF ACCESS:
Twenty years earlier.
AUTHORIZED BY:
James Palmer.
ASSIGNED TO:
Fiona Palmer.
I stared.
"My name?"
Nobody spoke.
My grandfather had created access for me before I even knew what any of this meant.
Before I joined the military.
Before I became an officer.
Before I knew about the box.
"How could he do that?"
Hayes looked at me.
"Because your grandfather knew you would become exactly who you are today."
I looked at the screen.
The file began opening.
A video appeared.
A recorded message.
My grandfather's face filled the monitor.
Older.
Tired.
But still the man I remembered.
My breath caught.
Nobody moved.
Then his voice played.
"If you are seeing this, Fiona..."
The recording paused.
The screen glitched.
Then another message appeared.
ACCESS DENIED.
Commander Hayes froze.
"What happened?"
The system flashed.
A new user had entered.
Someone was overriding the file.
Hayes stepped closer.
The name appeared on the screen.
USER CONNECTED:
THOMAS PALMER.
I slowly turned toward my father.
My father wasn't looking at the computer.
He was looking at me.
And then he whispered:
"Fiona..."
A second notification appeared.
The classified file was not being deleted.
It was being transferred.
To another location.
A location only one person knew existed.
Fort Blackwood's underground archive.
The place that had been sealed since my grandfather disappeared.
Commander Hayes looked at the screen.
Then at me.
"The archive door just opened."
He stopped.
May you like
His face turned pale.
"Someone is already inside."
